Led by Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins scored three third period goals to avenge a 3-0 deficit and Evgeni Malkin put the finishing touch on the Penguins comeback Wednesday night scoring with 16 seconds left in overtime to give the Penguins a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Malkin who has been the Penguins leader on the ice this season, had two goals and 1 assist and was an absolute force on the ice against the Lightning. Malkin played very physical and was credited with four hits on the night and it seemed like he had about 7 or 8 hits. On the offensive end, Malkin played a Alexander Ovechkin type of game
Head coach Michel Therrien was very vocal following the 2nd period. There was a lot of pressure on the coaching staff tonight to win this game and the team responded in third period.
Despite the magical comeback the Penguins had against the Lightning, this is a flawed team. The Lightning controlled the play for the first two periods because they were the more physical team. Pittsburgh matches up so poorly against physical teams.
Ryan Malone scored his 16th goal of the season and registered 7 hits. Gary Roberts returned to the lineup, playing over 13 minutes and also registered 7 hits.
As I reported at 5:50 p.m., it was believed Michel Therrien was going to play Miroslav Satan because he was due to play in his 1,000th career game and in fact Satan was in the lineup. My source told me at the time that it was believed that management felt bad.
Chris Minard, Alex Goligoski, and Philippe Boucher were healthy scratches
Luca Caputi had 7:33 of ice time. The plan has been to use him in a structured role but I didn’t like how the coaching staff used him early in the game.
TIOPS Post-Game Notes
Fedotenko could return on Sunday: Ruslan Fedotenko is 4-7 days from returning to the lineup. Fedotenko has not ruled out playing Sunday against Detroit. He has been ruled out for Friday’s game against Columbus. Looking at Sunday and the 11th against San Jose as the target dates right now.
The Flyers were in the building looking at Lightning defenseman Paul Ranger. The Wild were looking at Marty St. Louis. The Islanders,

who remain in constant contact with the Penguins were also in attendance. They have been scouting Pascal Dupuis lately
San Jose also in the building are a interesting team. The Penguins and Sharks have been scouting each other quite often over the past month. Prior to the All-Star break the Penguins scouted the Sharks twice in one week. The Sharks play the Penguins on the 11th and they may just be going through their normal scouting routines but I’m looking into them.
Edmonton was here looking at Hal Gill according to a source in Edmonton. That’s why I knew Gill was going to be in the lineup tonight.
Marian Hossa and Red Wings come to town on Sunday. Hossa has four goals in his last two games to give him 28 goals on the year. Things are working out quite nicely for Hossa. A source close to Ritch Winter, the agent for Marian Hossa tells me the Wings have presented Hossa a 6 year – $38 million deal.
more to come in the morning.